


The Way Out

by M3zzaTh3M3z



Category: Widdershins (Webcomic)
Genre: Confessions, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-15
Updated: 2019-06-15
Packaged: 2020-05-12 14:42:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,027
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19231195
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/M3zzaTh3M3z/pseuds/M3zzaTh3M3z
Summary: “I thought that was only if you were afraid of the unknown. I’m not, so what’s the problem?”“You’re not the only one down here.”Will and Eliza find their way out of The Depths.





	The Way Out

**Author's Note:**

> Set immediately after [ this page](https://widdershinscomic.com/wdshn/june-14th-2019) and written in a frantic rush before the next one can go up, posted at half midnight on Sunday.

Will gratefully accepted Eliza’s offered hand and they both winced as she helped him to his feet. “At least it’s just your arm, not your legs,” she said cheerfully. “I don’t much fancy hauling you out of here. Which way is out anyway?”

“I –“

She sighed, tucking a loose strand of hair behind one ear. “Let me guess, you don’t know. Wasn’t the entire point of Knotty letting you out to be a guide?”

Damn, his arm really did hurt. And it definitely didn’t look right. Will cradled it against his chest as he shot Eliza a glare. “The Depths change. We could be anywhere.”

“Right. Well, we can’t do much from down here.” She dug into one of her coat pockets and after a moment of searching, pulled out a small ball of twine. “Thought that was in there. We’ll tie this up and draw it out so we don’t walk in circles.”

“That might not work,” Will warned, eyeing the chunks of pillar hanging in the gloom above them. “Physics doesn’t mean much down here.”

Eliza shrugged. “It’s string, not physics.” After securing the twine around a column, she set off in a direction at random. “Let’s go,” she said, already fading in the mist.

Will swallowed, and hurried after her.

 

For what felt like hours, Will did nothing but put one foot in front of the other, stumbling after Eliza’s steadily walking figure. When was the last time he’d slept? Maybe a half hour nap yesterday afternoon? Only the fear of what could happen to him if he fell asleep down here kept him from dropping off on his feet. And all the while the mist swirled closer, clammy and somehow bone-dry at the same time, until he could barely see his hand grasping the string in front of him, let alone Eliza. It pressed in on his nose and mouth, until he felt as close to suffocating as possible while still technically breathing, and still he trudged on.

An unseen chunk of rubble caught his foot and he pitched forward, hand flying out on reflex, and a jolt ran through him as his broken arm smacked into something solid. “Ouch, bugger!”

“Watch it,” Eliza snapped, turning around. Her frown softened when she saw how he held his arm. “Hey, you need to be careful with that.”

“I know,” Will replied through gritted teeth. He took a deep breath as the pain subsided. “I didn’t see you there.”

“Didn’t see me?”

“Through all the mist.”

“What mist? It’s a bit dark yeah, but not _misty._ ”

“What?” Will waved his good hand at the mist surrounding them, but as he did he realised it was already lifting, retreating into the far cavernous corners. He shivered.

Eliza cocked her head. “You feeling alright?”

“At this point, it would be stranger if I said yes.”

“Fair. Anyway, so much for that plan. The string’s run out already.”

“Already? I’m surprised it lasted this long.”

“What?”

“We’ve been walking hours.”

Frowning, Eliza looked back along the bridge they were walking across “I think the Depths are messing with your head,” she said finally. “It’s only been a few minutes.”

“You’re sure?” Will tried to think about their walk, it _had_ been hours, hadn’t it? He’d never been so exhausted in his life, wandering around getting lost where nobody would ever find them… but Eliza was stood there looking just fine, other than a few bruises from the fall.

“Positive. I think we’d better stick closer together from now on.”

“Good idea,” Will agreed, still glancing about the looming bridges crossing above. Who knew what they’d find down here?

Eliza turned to go, and would have stepped right into a hole in the floor if Will hadn’t yanked her back by her collar.

“Well that wasn’t there before,” she muttered, straightening out her coat.

Will checked behind him before taking another step away. “I told you, things change down here. You can’t go storming ahead.”

“I thought that was only if you were afraid of the unknown. I’m not, so what’s the problem?”

“ _You’re_ not the only one down here.”

Eliza spread her hands wide in exasperation. “You’re the wizard, why are you scared? You know more about this place than I do.”

“Exactly!” Will’s shout echoed off distant walls, and there came the faint crunch of falling debris. “I know how dangerous it is,” he continued, slightly quieter but no less panicked. “We could fall to our deaths, properly this time! Or starve in an infinite maze, or be swallowed by the walls, or – or –“ He startled back as cracks appeared at his feet.

Eliza stumbled backwards as the cracks spread. “Calm down! None of that will happen if you just calm down!”

“Yelling at me isn’t very calming!”

“It’s reacting to fear, just like you said,” Eliza muttered, half to herself. She snapped her head back up. “What happened to being confident on most things?”

The cracks were widening now, enough to swallow up Will’s foot and he backed away again. The edge of the walkway was maybe half a step behind him, and he glanced over his shoulder, instantly regretting it. Emptiness gaped beneath him and he didn’t much fancy his chances of surviving a second drop.

“Obviously that was a lie!” he snapped, and once that would have been a big admittance, one he wouldn’t even give to himself, but right now he couldn’t do that, couldn’t keep up the façade. Everything hurt, he was exhausted, and he was so, so, _so fucking scared,_ he had been for weeks, ever since the police had come for him and thrown him in a cell and nobody else had come, nobody at all, and he hadn’t had a clue what was happening. It was a half-life on the edge of drowning, water rushing over his face every time he tried to take a breath and figure things out – his arrest, the case and how quickly, how terrifyingly quickly it had turned to his sentence, prison, his final night and then Knott, offering a way out. One after another, a current sweeping him along to the only certainty left – the gallows. And that scared him too, of course it did, he could already feel the rope rough around his neck, hear the snap of his neck and then – who knew? His blood ran cold every time the thought crossed his mind. 

With a thunderous _crack_ the walkway tore itself apart. Will fell to his knees, clinging to the edge of his chunk with his eyes scrunched shut.

“Will!” Eliza screamed.

He wasn’t falling. He cracked open his eyes, to see Eliza still stood on the main part of the bridge, slowly backing away from the spreading fissures. The large piece he clung to floated a meter or so away, bobbing like a raft in water.

“It’s not far,” Eliza said. “Jump across, before it gets too unstable.”

Will tried to sit up and the rock lurched backwards. “I don’t know if I can.”

“Of course you can, it’s no distance.”

It didn’t look that way from here. The gap was widening by the second. Maybe on normal ground Will could have, but down here? Not a chance.

More of the bridge crumbled into the abyss at Eliza’s feet and she shrunk back. “Careful, you’re going to bring the whole place down!”

Will’s heart pounded, too hard and fast for his chest, he could feel the panic building, clouding his thoughts, maybe if everything would just stop for a minute he could gather himself again but the cracks were growing and the rock was crumbling and the ground, if there even was any, was such a long way down. “I-I don’t know what to do!”

“Well neither do I! You’re the wizard, think of something!”

Okay. Okay. He _was_ a wizard, a lazy, good-for-nothing, failure of a wizard, but –

“Quickly, please? Before you float away?”

But he could get this right at least. “I’ve one idea.”

“Out with it then.”

Will took a deep breath, and the rock seemed to steady a little under his hands. “We split up,” he said, slowly getting to his knees. “I’m making everything unstable, but if you go alone you should be fine. Go make sure Knott’s alright, and I’ll…” He faltered a little on the words, but managed them in the end. “I’ll meet you up there.”

“What?” Eliza stared like he was mad, arms outstretched. “I’m not leaving you.”

“You’ve got to.” It was the obvious solution, the only solution. This wasn’t just about him anymore, with Flack and the Mayor involved who knew how far it went? “I was meant to die in an hour or two anyway,” he continued, breaking into something like a smile. It was funny, this was funny, right? “Doesn’t matter if it’s down here or up there.” At least this wouldn’t involve Knott.

Another _crack,_ louder than the first, and the bridge shattered. The shockwave knocked Will flat, leaving him gasping for air.

“Stop it!” Eliza cried, half hanging off her section of bridge. She’d been thrown out a few metres from the edge, and Will had drifted even further. Her hands scrabbled for purchase on the smooth rock, while her legs swung wildly in the nothingness below. “You’re just making it worse!”

“Oh, shit, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I was trying to help!” Will pushed himself up, ignoring the nauseating rocking. Everything hung in the air, some larger chunks slowly rotating, but who knew how long that would last? “Oh gods, it’s all so much worse. The others were right, I’m useless. I’m just ninety percent bluster and the rest is… good hair, I suppose.”

Eliza went still and Will froze, terrified he’d set something off again. Then, to his surprise, she gave a strained huff of laughter. “Least you’ve still got your vanity.”

It was so – so incongruous, Will couldn’t help a startled laugh of his own. Well, maybe not a laugh, more a noise of general emotion than mirth, but hey, it was something that wasn’t terror so it made a nice change. “We both know my hair is the only thing going for me at this point,” he said, letting out a shaky breath. “You though - you’re smart, and brave, and you’ll be able to sort things out so –“

“Ha.” Eliza wasn’t struggling anymore, just hanging quite casually off the edge with one hand under her chin, like this was a totally reasonable place to have a chat. “Knotty tell you all that?”

Will couldn’t help feeling he’d missed something here. “Yes, in a way.”

“Right, yeah.” Eliza smiled fondly, her eyes wandering upwards. “Yeah, he’s kinda the only one who thinks like that.”

“What do you mean?”

Swinging one leg up onto the floating rock, Eliza started to haul herself up. “Sharpe, most people think I’m the crazy conspiracy lady who shouts at her customers. You saw me shoot the globe to make a point? Next week the others will have half-forgotten it because I do stuff like that _all the time._ ”

Yeah, Will had definitely missed something, but he couldn’t help asking, “So?”

“So,” Eliza continued, getting to her feet slowly. “So it doesn’t matter what most people think. It matters what I think of myself, and I think we can get out of here. But you’ve already decided you’re too afraid and unsure to make it, and the Depths are reacting to that.” She stood upright, her hair a mess around her head, one hand on her hip, and stared at him as though daring him to challenge her.

“You’re saying I have to… believe in myself?”

Eliza shrugged, looking pleased with herself. “Maybe it’s a sappy cliché because it works.”

“Believe in myself. Right. How hard can that be?” Will gave another not-really-a-laugh. “I mean, I must have _something_ worthwhile about me, it’s not like Flack’s the only person who ever found me useful for _anything_ and that was only because I’m a complete _idiot…_ ” He was getting hysterical, he could hear it in his voice, too high and tight, but he couldn’t stop it, every time he tried to reach for something that might be good about him, or maybe even just _okay,_ his mind recoiled, he couldn’t get past it.

_“Will,_ ” Eliza warned in a low voice. The debris was shaking, and a few smaller parts dropped away. “Hold it together.”

“I – I’m sorry,” he muttered, bringing his hands over his face. “Please, just go.”

“No. New plan.” Eliza took a half step to the edge of her rock, then jumped to the next, slightly smaller one. For a second she wobbled, but threw her hands wide and managed to steady herself. “Look, I’m not a psychologist, and even if I were, God knows we haven’t got time to sort through all your shit. But you think I can get through here, right? I know what I’m doing?”

“Yeah…?”

“Good.” Eliza jumped across again, this time landing surely.

“Stop, it’s too dangerous,” Will tried to tell her, but she ignored him.

“So if I say you can get out of here, I should know what I’m talking about.” She was close now, there was only a small chunk between her rock and his, not large enough for them both. But it was a long jump away. “You risked your life to save me from Flack. You could have run away when we were fighting the students. And Knotty trusts you even with a gun to his head, so –“

“It wasn’t,” Will said quietly, looking down at his hands.

“What?”

“He told me. He said I didn’t point it at his head. Or anywhere near him.”

“Huh, you’re right.” Eliza nodded thoughtfully. “Even better. Knotty’s a good judge of character, he wouldn’t do all this for just anyone.”

Will thought of Knotty’s earnest smile, of everything he’d risked by doing this. “He has been… very kind to me.”

“’Cause he thinks you’re worth it. So if you can’t believe in yourself right now, believe in me and Knotty. We’ll do it for you.” She held out her hand across the gap, and after a moment, Will struggled to his feet. “You just need to get across this gap, and I’ll help you the rest of the way.”

Arms wide for balance, Will stood on the edge of the rock. The next stepping stone would need a jump, but now he looked, it wasn’t so far after all. He wouldn’t think twice on land. And just beyond lay Eliza’s open palm.

Will bent his knees, and leapt.

The rock sunk under his weight and he flailed, but then Eliza’s hand grasped his own and pulled him next to her. “I-I made it!” he gasped, unable to keep from grinning.

“Sure did,” Eliza replied. “Just a couple more and we’re home dry, more or less.”

That was a bit of an exaggeration. The entire bridge had shattered, but after a couple of hair-raising leaps they reached a point where they could simply step from piece to piece, as long as they were careful.

“Ms Swift, are you sure you’re not a wizard?” Will asked after a minute or so of carefully making their way.

“Ha, good one,” Eliza replied, smirking back over her shoulder.

“Really though. Reality-bending magic is advanced stuff, but you seemed to understand it intuitively.”

“Nah, it’s just I’ve been researching the Anchors for years is all. Picked up a little here and there.” Eliza waved her hand modestly, but seemed pretty pleased with herself nevertheless.

“Have you read Miller’s theories on emotional wavelengths and spatial warping?” Will suggested.

“Pfft. Aren’t those a bit old now? I read ‘em when I was fifteen and they were ancient then.”

So she’d definitely picked up more than ‘a little.’ “Old maybe, but I couldn’t help thinking the demonstration you gave drew on a few of her points.”

“Well, she _did_ get me interested in the Fourth Anchor in the first place.” Eliza hopped over a fissure and turned to watch Will follow. “Wait, but I thought they stopped teaching her work after the Island Anchor scandal? How come you’ve read it? Didn’t think you were much of one for studying.”

Will shrugged, unsure how to explain. “Depends what it is. Most of magic of _incredibly dull_ , but there are certain topics that’ll interest me, so I go down the rabbit hole reading about them.” He jumped onto the next stone and this time barely rocked as it dipped under his weight. Maybe he was getting the hang of this. “Unfortunately it’s never anything actually related to the syllabus, and I leave no time for what I’m supposed to be doing.”

“Heh, I get that.” Eliza grinned. “Always much more fun to learn what they _don’t_ want you to know, right?”

“Guess so,” Will agreed, though he suspected they weren’t quite on the same wavelength. “Working with Flack – well, I know now she was only using me, but at the time… I actually _wanted_ to do the right work for once. Phasmia-psychology was always my favourite, and I - I thought we were doing something special. Stupid of me.”

Eliza clicked her fingers a few times in front of his face and pointed at the ground. Will’s foot was half over a hole that hadn’t been there a moment ago. “Oi, Sharpe, focus. It’s getting rocky, and we’re in a hurry.”

“Sorry,” he muttered, quickly stepping away. “It’s… hard.”

“Not surprised,” Eliza said, waving him ahead. “Rough night, huh?”

“Not the kind I prefer.”

She’d been right, the ground was starting to fracture again, so Will stepped carefully and tried to focus on trusting Eliza and Knott. Trust was maybe the wrong word. But they were smart and competent, and they’d promised to help him, and remembering that seemed to be enough to hold the Depths together.

“You know what I think?” Eliza said after a while of walking in silence.

Will glanced back to find her frowning thoughtfully, and waved a hand. “I’m sure you’ll tell me anyway, but please continue.”

“I think Flack was lying. She wasn’t expecting you to blab, no, but she coulda found a way to keep anyone quiet. I reckon she picked you ‘cause she knew you’d be interested. Probably thought you’d be too focused on what was in front of you to think about afterwards.”

Sighing, Will stuck his hands in his pockets. “Would be nice to think so, but you heard her up there.”

“Pssht. She’s a psychologist or whatever? She knows what buttons to push is all.”

“Hm.” After a moment, Will glanced sideways at her and managed a half smile. “Thanks. I appreciate the thought.”

Eliza smiled back and looked about to say something, when she stumbled on the uneven ground.

“Eliza!” Will lunged and caught her arm before she could fall.

“Damn,” she muttered, rolling her ankle experimentally. “Wish I’d thought to change my shoes before we left.”

“Can you walk?”

Eliza scoffed. “Yeah, I’ll be fine.” She took another step and her leg buckled, luckily Will was there to steady her. “It’s fine,” she repeated.

“Allow me, ma’am,” Will said, offering his arm properly.

Rolling her eyes, Eliza took it. “Ugh. Fine.”

Now this, playing the charmer, the rake, the man with it all under control, this was familiar. “Shall we?” he said, and it was so easy to slip into the brilliant smile again.

As they continued along, slower now, still wary of sudden cracks or tilts, Will felt himself stand taller, tread a little surer. All the laid-back charm and confidence was an act of course, but an act he performed well. It had always seen him through trouble before – right up until the moment it landed him in jail, but he wasn’t going to think about that right now, lest the floor fall out from under him. Instead, he stuck to safer topics and said, “Your boots may be a little impractical perhaps, but if we are to go on a madcap, conspiracy-foiling midnight caper, we may as well do it with style, no?”

Eliza snorted and Will smiled a little wider, encouraged.

“On the subject, I must compliment you on your taste. Where did you get these?” he asked, gesturing down at his borrowed clothes. “If we survive the night, I might have to look in myself.”

“Keep ‘em,” Eliza said. “Errol’s had long enough to stop by.” She looked at him, head cocked to one side. “You _do_ know I gave you the ugliest clothes in that cupboard?”

“Yes, but you hadn’t reckoned with _this,_ ” Will replied with a smirk, indicating himself in general, which was true. Most of being ‘good looking’ was attitude, and he was very good at faking that. “I think it’s the hair,” he added thoughtfully. “Makes anything look good.”

“Certainly got Knotty convinced.”

Will almost missed a step. “Huh?”

Eliza rolled her eyes as he straightened himself. “You saw the heart-eyes he was giving you in the vent.”

“H-he was?” Will tried to remember, but everything in the last few hours was a big blur of adrenaline. Knott _had_ been pretty close, smiling anxiously as he looked at him with those big green eyes and –

“Since you came to mine, really,” Eliza added casually.

The suave, confident persona was rapidly slipping beyond reach. “I’m not sure he actually –“

“Hey, dunno why you’re acting surprised. You’re the one pulling the annoying flirty routine all night.”

Will adjusted the back of his collar, which was starting to feel uncomfortably warm. “Well, yes, but it doesn’t usually… you know…”

“Work?” Eliza finished for him, looking smug. “Seemed to have done the job on Knotty alright.” Her expression turned serious and her grip on Will’s arm tightened, not to painful, but to noticeable. “So if you’re just playing, you’d better pack it in.”

“Hey, hold on-“

Eliza’s expression softened. “Knotty’s a sweet guy, and he takes things so seriously,” she said. “You shouldn’t mess him around, especially when he’s helping you.”

“Right, yeah. You’re right,” Will muttered distractedly.

At first, sure, that’s all it had been. He had eight hours to live and a cute boy walked in and what do you expect him to do? If it helped get him out of there, all the better. It _had_ been funny (and cute) to watch him blush and squirm. But he’d been with Knott all night, and he’d kept being determined, and brave, and kind, and _really_ cute, and playing had turned into… well, _something_ , and that something made his stomach flip.

Will touched his arm, remembering the surprise of suddenly being pulled close, the warmth of Knott’s body against his side, and blushed as deeply as he had then. He fought the urge to hide his face in his hands, knowing it would only make it more obvious, and instead swallowed before saying in a small voice, “And, hypothetically, if I wasn’t just playing?”

Eliza looked at him, head tilted to one side with a knowing smile, and Will’s blush worsened until he had to look away. “Then our first step is still getting out of here. What was it he said to you? He doesn’t want to be someone worth disappointing? He’s holding up his end of the deal, now you do your bit.”

“Yeah.” Will nodded. “Yeah, you’re right.” He looked up and realised they were reaching the other side of the bridge. The ground was no longer fractured into pieces, and a stone staircase spiralled up to another level. “Hey, I think I recognise this place. We’re not far from Flack’s lab.”

“Huh.” Eliza jumped up and down, then winced as she landed on her ankle. “Okay, bad idea. But physics seems to be getting back to normal at least.” She turned the wince into a smile as she caught Will’s eye. “What did I tell ya? We did it!”

He smiled back, and let go of her arm with a short bow. “Thank you for the lovely walk, ma’am.”

Rolling her eyes, Eliza nodded towards the staircase. “Come on, Hair. Let’s see how Knotty’s getting on.”

**Author's Note:**

> I've never written so much in a day. I hope you enjoyed, and let's see if a single thing happens for real on Tuesday.


End file.
